A couple of days ago we talked about how the RIAA and NAB are planning on asking US Congress to mandate FM radio chips inside every cell phone. This plan was met with some ridicule, so the NAB decided to write a blog post addressing the critics. Most of the post is overshadowed by an overdose of America's favourite national pastime: WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE. 9/11!

Maybe. I've done both, growing up in Boston and then spending much of my life in a rural town (if one could call it that) where everything was more distant (hospital, grocery store, no city water, etc.) and transportation was necessary. But I am not sure what your statement has to do with the area issue? Are you suggesting no one in the cities would vote to spend money to set up sirens for those in rural areas?

You misunderstood my point, partly because I wasn't clear. I didn't mean that city folk wouldn't want to help rural folk; rather that city folk think only within the constraints of their everyday life, and don't think of how things might work differently elsewhere. That is, the suggestion for air raid sirens makes complete sense in an urban setting -- even if the urban setting is giant, presumably the tax base would be more than adequate to pay for it -- but not in a rural setting. So the person who dismissed the notion of FM radio in favor of air raid sirens was engaged in that sort of urban reasoning.

You misunderstood my point, partly because I wasn't clear. I didn't mean that city folk wouldn't want to help rural folk; rather that city folk think only within the constraints of their everyday life, and don't think of how things might work differently elsewhere. That is, the suggestion for air raid sirens makes complete sense in an urban setting -- even if the urban setting is giant, presumably the tax base would be more than adequate to pay for it -- but not in a rural setting. So the person who dismissed the notion of FM radio in favor of air raid sirens was engaged in that sort of urban reasoning.

Air raid sirens are not just in urban areas. They are used throughout the midwest for tornado warnings. The siren can heard for many miles, especially in open areas like the midwest. I grew up in NE but not in a particulary urban area and I remember them being tested on a regular basis. The siren was located right outside of my elementary school.

No, I'm saying that I agree with you completely about non-Americans who make snide remarks about a purely American issue and that I also agree that the US government has its hands into far too many things that should be left alone. This site is rife with people who go out of their way to use it as a soap box to poke fun at the US when they have no real understanding or experience with the issue at hand. It's funny because I NEVER see any negative comments on here from Americans criticizing the EU or its member nations.